


Poison

by Hanna



Category: Thor (2011)
Genre: M/M, but only mentions, hurt!Thor, mentions of nsfw things, not nsfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-22
Updated: 2013-07-22
Packaged: 2017-12-21 00:07:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/893496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanna/pseuds/Hanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Thor was still out, sweat gathering on his forehead, tossing and turning, lost in delirium, moaning softly, and Loki could not help him. He'd cleaned and covered his wound as best he could, his grasp on healing magic was restricted to minor battlefield injuries, not deep stabs like this, and no matter what he tried he could not soothe his brother.</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thor is the target of an assassination attempt when he and Loki got to Svartalfahemir to negotiate their surrender during their war with Alfheim; while his brother is badly injured Loki must look after him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poison

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure I really like how this turned out but hey, the person who paid for it liked it so :)

Thor was still out, sweat gathering on his forehead, tossing and turning, lost in delirium, moaning softly, and Loki could not help him. He'd cleaned and covered his wound as best he could, his grasp on healing magic was restricted to minor battlefield injuries, not deep stabs like this, and no matter what he tried he could not soothe his brother. Worry clenched his gut and he bit his lip, held Thor's hand in the hopes of reaching him, whispered to him, and hoped and prayed no one would come by and hear him. He hadn't the strength to teleport the both of them again. Thor tensed and he put a hand to his racing pulse. It hadn't slowed and if it didn't soon Thor was going to be in real trouble.

He bit his lip.

"Brother, wake up," he pleaded softly, gripping his hand tighter. "Be well."

It might have been his imagination, but he was sure Thor's grip tightened on his hand.

XX

Tensions between the dark elves and the light had always been present, and more than once they had waged war; but this was the first time that war had begun to threaten Asgard. The dark elves were gaining on the light until the elves of Alfheim, allies of Asgard, had called upon Asgard for aid. It was a tough fight; the dark elves were great sorcerers and Asgard's army fought using steel; but they had fought them to a standstill.

There was a ceasefire, but no peace; the war was not officially ended.

The dark elves refused to acknowledge any authority but royal authority from Asgard and, unable to go himself, Odin Allfather sent his an honour guard and sons; Loki to negotiate, Thor to be the face of royal authority. Thor was not cut out for diplomacy.

It was not, however, Thor's lack of tact that had the brothers in trouble. His lack of tact would be the catalyst but the simmering tensions were truly to blame.

The demands placed upon Svartalfahemir were extensive; their armies were to be cut in half and their most precious treasures given to Asgard. The dark elves had military power to rival Asgard and Loki knew that a single wrong word could end this. The negotiations were long and Loki exhausted at the end of each day. He would sit and rub his temple until Thor came over, brows drawn in worry, massaged his shoulders and kissed his neck until he relaxed and let Thor carry him to bed, where he proceeded to lavish attention on him until the weight of the day fell from him.

Each day it was harder to relax Loki, and his face was oft pinched with worry, no matter what Thor did. Thor drank with the dark elves and glowered at them. At times he became drunk enough to condemn sorcery and them for the stress his brother was under until Loki dragged him off to his room. But not often; he was aware of the need to keep tensions down and generally stayed away from the mead unless Loki's brow was particularly pinched.

The negotiations dragged on longer than anyone had thought they would; finally they ended when Thor was incredibly drunk.

"Sorcery is for cowards," he said scornfully. The dark elves nearby turned sharply to him.

"Your own brother is a seidmandr," one said and Thor waved him off.

"Loki is nobler than you will ever be," he said, and Loki came close. The elf sat opposite Thor and Thor fended Loki's efforts to drag him to their rooms off. He offered Thor more mead and he accepted.

He became drunker than he had been before that night and the elf offered to help Loki take him back to his quarters. Eyeing him with suspicion, Loki could not refuse, unable to carry Thor back on his own, and watched until he left.

He warded Thor's door that night before he went to his own room.

That did not stop the elf from breaking the ward and by the time Loki was there he had his dagger sunk deep in Thor's side and Thor was awake, eyes wide and alarmed, struggling to fend him off but failing. His movements were clumsy and awkward and Loki knew instantly that something was wrong; Thor might sleep heavily but he woke fast.

The elf found two knives in his back before he could turn and as he staggered back Loki grabbed Thor's hand and vanished with him.

XX

He staggered when he hit the ground in a nearby cave with the dead weight of Thor. Frantic, he checked that Thor was still breathing. His pulse was fast but he was alive and Loki could have collapsed with relief. He couldn't afford to, though; Thor was bleeding heavily and showed no signs of stopping. Grimacing he curled his fingers around the blade still in Thor's side and took a deep breath before yanking it out.

Thor made a cry of pain, his eyes clouded, lids fluttering, grasping for Loki. Loki caught his hand and made shushing noises.

"It's alright, Thor," he said. "It's alright. You'll be fine."

Before he could reply Thor passed out. Loki turned his attention to the bleeding. The knife was poisoned, he saw when he cast it aside, and he cursed. He put his hands on the cut and quickly they were soaked; Thor's bedclothes were soaked through. He lifted the shirt, grimacing when it lifted sticky skin with it, and cut it off as best he could.

No sorcery Loki knew would stop the bleeding, no matter what he tried, and eventually he bound the wound as tightly as he could, ripping cloth from his own clothes and Thor's, and sat by Thor, praying, fury and terror mixing in him.

XX

He was worried. He tried to stem the bleeding on Thor's wounds but couldn't; the poison on the blade, and the poison that had been in the mead, was no doubt crafted to produce this exact reaction, to ensure that Thor did not get back up once he was stabbed, and he was helplessly furious, unable to do anything to get back at the elf who had done this, unable to leave Thor's side. He had to keep cleaning up the blood and Thor was shaking and increasingly pale and he knew that if this went on much longer the elf may yet achieve his goal. The thought terrified him; Thor, his brother, the heir, golden and beautiful, his lover, who kissed him so tenderly, took him so perfectly and spread himself so appealingly, taking Loki's cock so sweetly, could not _die_. He would not allow it.

And so Loki worked his limited healing magic on Thor's wound tirelessly, foraged if he could in order to find ingredients to mix into poultices, ripped his own clothes to fashion bandages for Thor, and then started to rip Thor's when his blood soaked through and he had used up his overshirt.

He bit his lip as he watched Thor tremble in his unconsciousness and tried to soothe his brother, held his hand, kissed his sweaty forehead. He increased his temperature tenfold with magic in order to encourage him to sweat out the fever he feared would claim his life, having learned from the healers on Asgard, and Thor tossed and turned and moaned low but did not wake, and his fever did not break.

"Only you would be this much trouble," he informed him. "Only you would pick a fight with seimandrs on a world soaked in seidr. You and your lack of tact."

It wasn't for several days that his fever broke, and wound finally stopped bleeding. By then Loki had started, reluctantly, on Thor's cape for bandages.

Thor's eyes opened a crack just before dawn one morning. They were dazed and hazy.

"Loki?" he mumbled, and they shut again. Loki felt his pulse, which had slowed into a more normal rate, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Thor's chest rising and falling.

He was merely sleeping.

Loki breathed a sigh of relief. He'd teleported them further away from the palace after a few days when he remembered that the elves would be pursuing them but was reluctant to move Thor again. The last time he'd moved him Thor's wound had bled more heavily and he didn't want his seidr to interfere with the seidr wracking Thor's body and make it worse. The bleeding had finally slowed to a tiny trickle and he wasn't going to risk it.

He did, however, need to go outside, scout the surroundings and figure out how best to defend their location. While Thor was in the grip of fever he had been unwilling to leave his side but now he had no choice.

He cast a charm of protection on Thor, and a warning charm, so he would know if something happened, biting his lip, reluctant to leave him alone. He waited for several minutes but the bleeding did not worsen and Thor's chest did not stop rising and falling so he went outside.

It was warm, a breeze stirring the leaves, and beautiful, in a stark way. The trees there were stood alone and proud against the unforgiving landscape and Loki wondered what there might be to eat; what was safe. He could test it all with his magic but that would take effort and he could already feel his strength waning from tending to Thor.

He wondered how the healers back on Asgard did it all the time. They must be so strong.

Unwilling to go far from the cave he decided to keep it in view this first expedition; later when he was sure Thor was better he could venture further and see if they had any guards pursuing them.

He wondered if the royal caste had anything to do with the assassination attempt; they would, of course, deny it if they did, but it was undoubtable that anyone who could assassinate the Asgard's crown prince would destabilise the whole of the Nine Realms, perhaps even make way for a new power. He knew the people of the other realms burned under Asgard's control sometimes but didn't know how to stop it and, at this point, didn't much care.

Thor was in the cave, relying on him, either asleep or unconscious, helpless (as much as he hated to think of him as helpless) and he had a job to do.

He went to the nearest tree, glanced back to see the cave still in view, and examined it. The bark was stringy and tough and the leaves equally so; around the roots mushrooms grew, huddling in the shelter provided by the trunk. Loki collected some just in case they were edible. Then he cast out with his magic.

The tree resisted his attempts to gain information on it; it only made sense that the land of the dark elves, powerful mages all, would be resistant to sorcery. He snorted in frustration, huffed out a breath.

"Of course," he muttered. He could not rely on his magic here, not like on Asgard where no one knew anything about magic, where warriors threw things at each other and women kept what they knew of seidr to themselves. Except, of course, from the few male sorcerers who broke into their circles, but never entirely; Loki had never felt like he entirely belonged there and resented their attempts to make him more feminine. Thor snorted when he complained about it.

"Seidr is a woman's art," he said. "Why would they not see you as one of them?"

The remark had hurt more than he would ever admit and since then he'd stopped trying to talk to Thor about it.

He would have to rely on his wits here.

Fortunately he read a lot, something Thor could not understand (there were many things Thor did not understand, and they all seemed to revolve around him) and often dragged him away from to play with his friends when they were younger, and now to spar.

Loki hated it, but Thor was his brother and had never once changed in their centuries; he was not about to.

He sat down and, keeping an eye on the mouth of the cave and an ear out for approaching footsteps or the whisper of seidr, tested the mushroom.

He brushed his fingertips over it and the green of his seidr sank beneath the surface; after a moment he knew it was safe. He gathered as many as he could carry and returned to the cave.

Thor was still sleeping. He was tossing and turning, a sheen of sweat on his cheeks, and Loki smoothed a hand over his forehead, whispered a prayer. He cast a healing spell on Thor again and liked to think that he settled down a little, that his movements became less frantic.

Setting the mushrooms aside he stared helplessly out the cave entrance and swallowed down his tears. He could not afford to fall apart.

XX

Thor did not improve but he did not become worse, and Loki was certain his spells worked so he laid warnings on the cave to warn if anyone was approaching and dared to venture further. He collected more mushrooms (they didn't taste good but they were edible and he could already hear Thor's complaints about them) and found some odd fruit when he didn't risk. Magic soaked the land here, was the foundation for everything and despite the circumstances he relished the challenge in getting it to relinquish its secrets to him.

Day after day he sent his own magic further into the soil and returned frustrated. He would have sworn that the land itself was rebuffing him, shoving him out forcefully. Insect bites appeared on his hands and arms where there had being none before and the more he ventured out the more resistant it became to his efforts.

One day, his hands deep in the dirt, barely aware of the ants biting him, his warning spell shrieked loud and clear in his head and he yanked his hands out, blood swelling from the pricks in his skin, and ran to the cave. He paused when he heard footsteps.

Two dark elves, soldiers, were patrolling the area. Hardly daring to breathe he crept into the cave where Thor was tossing and turning in his sleep, pained whimpers falling from his lips. Loki pressed his hand to Thor's lips and whispered desperately in his ear, "Wake up Thor, be quiet."

Whoever was indeed involved in this he did not want to be found when his magic was stretched and Thor locked in a nightmare, body wracked with pain. Only on a handful of occasions had he woken, and only on two for long enough for Loki to force some soup down his throat. His lack of complaint was a cause for concern. Loki let some of his magic sink into him and nourish him, which extended him further.

"Only you could be this much of a pain," he had told Thor multiple times but now he hardly dared breathe. Thor was still whimpering and groaning and the wards were zinging- please don't let them detect them please- and Loki pressed harder on his lips, lay across him and sealed his lips on his to swallow them in a desperate attempt to silence him. He writhed beneath him but he was weak and Loki pinned his wrists to the ground until he stopped struggling.

It took him a moment to realise Thor's eyes were open and he was staring at him. He wanted to laugh- now?- but at least Thor was still, even if he was struggling with quiet.

"Loki," he started to croak and Loki kissed him quiet. He let out a ragged breath and lay back and Loki had never being so thankful that Thor was so responsive. His breath was weak and Loki dared not slide off him. The soldiers came closer and Thor watched him wide eyed, confused but obeying his unspoken wishes.

Loki hardly dared to breathe and then the soldiers entered. He rolled off Thor as quietly as he could and brought magic fire to his hands.

"Halt," one called, and the fire only burned brighter. "We are not here to harm you, Odinson." He glanced at Thor and his eyes had squeezed shut, his breathing high and fast, not sleeping but trying to control the pain. Loki was willing to bet he was biting his tongue but still harsh gasps left him.

"He needs medical attention," the second guard said. "Do not attack us." They approached and Loki let out a breath. He could not have stopped them; he had poured so much magic ineffectually into Thor in an attempt to heal him that he could feel it guttering. He let it die, knowing that at least this way the poison might be leeched from Thor and the dark elves wouldn't dare to publically harm them.

The soldiers were oddly gentle as they lifted Thor, who tensed all and glanced at Loki, breath stuttering in his chest but was too weak to fight them.

"Your Highness," one soldier said, "We will not hurt you." Thor sagged into their arms, having expended what little strength he had and Loki swayed on the spot. A soldier touched his arm to steady him and a burst of strength went through him. He looked sharply at him.

"We have to carry your brother," he explained, "And can't have you collapse on us." Loki just nodded, suspicion in his eyes. Thor was quiet and his eyes had closed again. Loki's lips parted.

"He is sleeping," the first guard said. "I relieved his pain."

"Can you drain the poison from him?" Loki asked, voice rough. They pressed their lips together.

"Not here," he said. "The seidr is bound to it; if we attempt to lift it we may kill him. We can only nullify his pain. The healers will have to remove it." Loki just nodded wearily. "He will be well."

They started off and Loki felt the new energy fade into exhaustion. The relief of being found, that Thor wasn't tossing and whimpering, that they would be back on Asgard soon seeped through him.

He would make sure Thor healed, and then he would make the royal family sigh the surrender if it was the last thing he did. His mouth set in a grim line.

This was not the first assassination attempt on Thor (and he himself had being the target of a few) but it was the closest one had come to succeeding. He swallowed through a lump in his throat, the fear of the last- how long had it being? Days? Weeks?- draining from him, replaced by the sharper awareness of the political danger they were heading into.

A dangerous smile curved across his lips. Whoever had done this to Thor would pay.

XX

They lay Thor down on a bed in the medical bay and the healers took one look at Loki and insisted that he lie down too. When he tried to say he was fine he swayed, vision greying dangerously and a healer steered him to a bed. He was asleep almost before his head hit the pillow.

XX

When he woke there was one of the honour guard by the door, a half-cleared plate of food beside Thor's bed and some colour was back in his cheeks. He was sleeping but his sleep was undisturbed by the pain that had wracked him for so long.

"He is strong," a healer said, coming over once she realised Loki was awake with food. His mouth watered and he sat up. He was rested and ravenous. She smiled at him as he took it, frowning slightly. "It isn't poisoned, I assure you."

He still tested it with his seidr first.

"You will both be well," she said. "You just need rest and to eat, and once the poison was out of him your brother started to heal- once he rests he will be fine."

Loki swallowed his mouthful.

"I want to talk to the queen," he said. Her smile slipped slightly.

"Of course," she said, and he resumed eating.

XX

"Your Highness," said the queen with a wide smile. "I am so glad to see you well." Thor skewered her with a long glare. He might not be intellectual but he was certainly not stupid, and he knew that she had tried to have him killed. Loki smiled at her.

"We are both well, thanks you your hospitality," he said smoothly and she turned to him.

"Any time, your Highness, anything you need." Her smile was pure poison and Loki's no less dangerous.

"I assume that the people responsible for the assassination attempt will be found and brought to justice?" Loki continued. The queen met his gaze squarely.

"Of course, your Highness," she said. "What else would we do in retaliation for this crime against the Heir of the Nine Realms?"

"And speaking of the Nine Realms, we are understandably eager to return to Asgard," Loki said, "So if you'll sign the surrender?"

Really, they had no choice. Whether or not they had actually hired the assassin the ground they walked was very shaky; there was no doubt that they were the top of the list of suspects and they did not want Asgard digging into their politics.

"Of course, your Highness," she said, voice dripping venom. "Just as soon as you and your brother are well we shall gather the court." Loki smiled pleasantly.

"A pleasure negotiating with you," he said and she dipped her head, turned on her heel and left, steps sharp. Thor was gazing at Loki.

"I love watching you do that," he said and Loki averted his gaze. There was heat in Thor's eyes. The nurse came over with food and a scowl.

"Eat," she said with a dark look at the door.

XX

They were in the infirmary for several days regaining their strength and Thor was starting to complain about it. Loki took that as a sign that he was ready to leave, and so did the nurse.

"You may go," she said with a tolerant smile. She'd become very fond of them both in the time they had spent in the infirmary. "Get out of my hair." She sounded amused.

The court was called and Loki skewered the queen with a look when she hesitated before announcing the formal surrender of Svartalfahemir and signing. Thor signed as the royal authority and a witness of the court signed and then Loki rolled the document up and put it in his pouch, bowing at her.

"Your Majesty," he said and the lines around her mouth tightened.

"Your Highness," she said and he turned and walked out, Thor on his heel. Once they were out the palace, escorted by their honour guard. Thor and Loki walked ahead of the guard. Thor touched Loki's hand.

"Thank you, brother," Thor said softly. Loki scoffed at him.

"You're more trouble than you're worth," he said, a soft quirk to his lips. "I knew you wouldn't die and spare me your fancies." Thor laughed as the Bifrost took them.


End file.
